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'{{short description|Carcharodontosaurid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous}} {{Use American English|date=February 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange/linked|Turonian}} | image = Mapusaurus.jpg | image_caption = Reconstructed skeletons of an adult and a juvenile (left) | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Mapusaurus | authority = [[Rodolfo Coria|Coria]] & [[Phil Currie|Currie]], [[2006 in paleontology|2006]] | type_species = [[extinction|†]]'''''Mapusaurus roseae''''' | type_species_authority = Coria & Currie, 2006 }} '''''Mapusaurus''''' ({{lit|Earth lizard}}) was a giant [[carcharodontosaurid]] [[carnosauria]]n dinosaur from [[Argentina]] during the [[Turonian]] age of the [[Late Cretaceous]]. == Discovery == [[File:Reconstrucción elenco del Cráneo del Mapusaurus roseae.jpg|thumb|left|Reconstructed skull]] ''Mapusaurus'' was excavated between 1997 and 2001, by the Argentinian-Canadian Dinosaur Project, from an exposure of the [[Huincul Formation]] (late [[Cenomanian]]-[[Turonian]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Canale |first1=Juan I. |last2=Apesteguía |first2=Sebastián |last3=Gallina |first3=Pablo A. |last4=Mitchell |first4=Jonathan |last5=Smith |first5=Nathan D. |last6=Cullen |first6=Thomas M. |last7=Shinya |first7=Akiko |last8=Haluza |first8=Alejandro |last9=Gianechini |first9=Federico A. |last10=Makovicky |first10=Peter J. |title=New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction |journal=Current Biology |date=July 2022 |volume=32 |issue=14 |pages=3195–3202.e5 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.057 |pmid=35803271 |s2cid=250343124 |doi-access=free }}</ref>) at Cañadón del Gato. It was described and named by [[paleontologists]] [[Rodolfo Coria]] and [[Phil Currie]] in 2006.<ref name="coria&currie2006"/> The name ''Mapusaurus'' is derived from the [[Mapuche]] word ''Mapu'', meaning 'of the Land' or 'of the Earth' and the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''sauros'', meaning '[[lizard]]'. The [[type species]], ''Mapusaurus roseae'', is named for both the [[rose]]-colored rocks, in which the fossils were found and for [[Gordon Letwin|Rose Letwin]], who sponsored the expeditions which recovered these fossils.<ref name="coria&currie2006"/> The designated [[holotype]] for the [[genus]] and [[type species]], ''Mapusaurus roseae'', is an isolated right nasal (MCF-PVPH-108.1, Museo Carmen Funes, Paleontología de Vertebrados, Plaza Huincul, Neuquén). Twelve paratypes have been designated, based on additional isolated skeletal elements. Taken together, the many individual elements recovered from the ''Mapusaurus'' bone bed represent most of the skeleton.<ref name="coria&currie2006"/> == Description == [[File:Mapusaurus Scale.svg|thumb|left|Size of a few specimens compared to a human]] ''Mapusaurus'' was a large theropod, but slightly smaller in size than its close relative ''[[Giganotosaurus]]'',and it was the same size as Carcharodontosaurus, this because the specimens of these 2 species reached almost the same size, since some specimens of Carcharodontosaurus were larger than specimens of Mapusaurus and other specimens of Mapusaurus larger than specimens of Carcharodontosaurus. Mapusaurs averages around 12.2 to 12.6 meters in length with the largest specimen measuring around {{convert|11|-|12|m|ft}} long and weighing up to {{convert|5|-|6|MT|ST}}.<ref name="coria&currie2006">{{Cite journal |last1=Coria |first1=R. A. |last2=Currie |first2=P. J. |year=2006 |title=A new carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina |url=https://dinonews.net/rubriq/docs/2006_coria_mapusaurus.pdf |journal=Geodiversitas |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=71–118 |citeseerx=10.1.1.624.2450 |issn=1280-9659 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Holtz|first=T.|year=2015|title=Paleontologists: Searching for Dinosaur Bones|publisher=Enslow Publishing, LLC|pages=54|isbn=978-0766069640}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Paul|first=Gregory S.|author-link=Gregory S. Paul|title=The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs|date=2024|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|isbn=9780691231570|page=116|edition=3rd}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Holtz|first=Thomas R.|year=2021|title=Theropod guild structure and the tyrannosaurid niche assimilation hypothesis: implications for predatory dinosaur macroecology and ontogeny in later Late Cretaceous Asiamerica|journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences|volume=58|issue=9|pages=778−795|doi=10.1139/cjes-2020-0174|hdl=1903/28566 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> It has been determined that ''Mapusaurus'' was diagnosed on autapomorphies, or unique traits, in regions of the skeleton that ''Giganotosaurus'' does not preserve. ''Mapusaurus'' only differs from ''Giganotosaurus'' in lacking a second opening on the middle [[Quadrate bone|quadrate]], and in some details of the topology of the nasal rugosities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Carrano|first1=Matthew T.|last2=Benson|first2=Roger B. J.|last3=Sampson|first3=Scott D.|date=June 1, 2012|title=The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230808558|journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology|volume=10|issue=2|pages=211–300|doi=10.1080/14772019.2011.630927|bibcode=2012JSPal..10..211C |s2cid=85354215|issn=1477-2019}}</ref> == Paleobiology == [[File:Mapusaurus Roseae restoration.png|alt=|left|thumb|Restoration]] The [[fossil]] remains of ''Mapusaurus'' were discovered in a [[bone bed]] containing at least seven to possibly up to nine individuals of various [[Ontogeny|growth stages]].<ref name="coria&currie2006"/><ref name="Eddy&Clarke">{{Cite journal |last1=Eddy |first1=Drew R. |last2=Clarke |first2=Julia A. |date=March 21, 2011 |title=New Information on the Cranial Anatomy of ''Acrocanthosaurus atokensis'' and Its Implications for the Phylogeny of Allosauroidea (Dinosauria: Theropoda) |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=e17932 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0017932 |pmid=21445312 |pmc=3061882 |issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2011PLoSO...617932E |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Canale-etal">{{Cite journal |last1=Canale |first1=Juan Ignacio |last2=Novas |first2=Fernando Emilio |last3=Salgado |first3=Leonardo |last4=Coria |first4=Rodolfo Aníbal |date=December 1, 2015 |title=Cranial ontogenetic variation in ''Mapusaurus roseae'' (Dinosauria: Theropoda) and the probable role of heterochrony in carcharodontosaurid evolution |journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift |language=en |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=983–993 |doi=10.1007/s12542-014-0251-3 |bibcode=2015PalZ...89..983C |s2cid=133485236 |issn=0031-0220|hdl=11336/19258 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Coria and Currie speculated that this may represent a long term, possibly coincidental accumulation of carcasses (some sort of [[predator trap]]) and may provide clues about ''Mapusaurus'' behavior.<ref name="coria&currie2006"/> Other known [[theropod]] bone beds and fossil graveyards include those of [[Dromaeosauridae|dromaeosaurid]]s ''[[Deinonychus]]'' and ''[[Utahraptor]]'',<ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.1080/02724634.1995.10011256|last=Maxwell|first=W. D. |author2= Ostrom, J.H. |year=1995 |title= Taphonomy and paleobiological implications of ''Tenontosaurus''–''Deinonychus'' associations|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=707–712| bibcode= 1995JVPal..15..707M }} ([http://www.vertpaleo.org/publications/jvp/15-707-712.cfm abstract] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204328/http://www.vertpaleo.org/publications/jvp/15-707-712.cfm |date=September 27, 2007}})</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kirkland |first1=J.I. |author-link=James I. Kirkland |last2=Simpson |first2=E.L. |last3=DeBlieux |first3=D.D. |last4=Madsen |first4=S.K. |last5=Bogner |first5=E. |last6=Tibert |first6=N.E. |date=September 1, 2016 |title=Depositional constraints on the Lower Cretaceous stikes quarry dinosaur site: Upper yellow cat member, cedar mountain formation, Utah |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308041652 |journal=PALAIOS |volume=31 |issue=9 |pages=421–439 |bibcode=2016Palai..31..421K |doi=10.2110/palo.2016.041 |s2cid=132388318}}</ref> those of ''[[Allosaurus]]'' from the [[Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry]] of [[Utah]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Hunt |first=Adrian P |author2=Lucas, Spencer G.|author3= Krainer, Karl|author4= Spielmann, Justin |year=2006 |chapter=The taphonomy of the [[Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry]], Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Utah: a re-evaluation |editor=Foster, John R. |editor2=Lucas, Spencer G. |title=Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation |series=New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, '''36''' |publisher=New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science |location=Albuquerque, New Mexico |pages=57–65}}</ref> and those of [[Tyrannosauridae|tyrannosaurid]]s ''[[Teratophoneus]]'', ''[[Albertosaurus]]'' and ''[[Daspletosaurus]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://peerj.com/articles/11013|title=Geology and taphonomy of a unique tyrannosaurid bonebed from the upper Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah: implications for tyrannosaurid gregariousness|first1=Alan L.|last1=Titus|first2=Katja|last2=Knoll|first3=Joseph J. W.|last3=Sertich|first4=Daigo|last4=Yamamura|first5=Celina A.|last5=Suarez|first6=Ian J.|last6=Glasspool|first7=Jonathan E.|last7=Ginouves|first8=Abigail K.|last8=Lukacic|first9=Eric M.|last9=Roberts|date=April 19, 2021|journal=PeerJ|volume=9|pages=e11013|via=peerj.com|doi=10.7717/peerj.11013|pmc=8061582 |pmid=33976955|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[File:Mapusaurus bones.png|thumb|''Mapusaurus'' bones with pathologies]] Paleontologist Rodolfo Coria, of the [[Museo Carmen Funes]], contrary to his published article, repeated in a press-conference earlier suggestions that this congregation of fossil bones may indicate that ''Mapusaurus'' like ''Giganotosaurus'' also hunted in groups and worked together to take down large prey, such as the immense [[sauropod]] ''[[Argentinosaurus]]''.<ref name="AP1">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |date=2006|title=Details Revealed About Huge Dinosaurs|publisher=ABC News US|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1852246&page=1}}{{dead link|date=December 2017}}</ref> If so, this would be the first substantive evidence of gregarious behavior by large theropods other than ''[[Tyrannosaurus]]'', although whether they might have hunted in organized packs (as wolves and lions do) or simply attacked in a mob, is unknown. The authors interpreted the [[depositional environment]] of the Huincul Formation at the Cañadón del Gato locality as a freshwater paleochannel deposit, "laid down by an ephemeral or seasonal stream in a region with arid or semi-arid climate".<ref name="coria&currie2006"/> This bone bed is especially interesting, in light of the overall scarcity of fossilized bone within the Huincul Formation. An ontogenetic study by Canale et al. (2014)<ref name="Canale-etal"/> found that ''Mapusaurus'' displayed heterochrony, an evolutionary condition in which the animals may retain an ancestral characteristic during one stage of their life, but lose it as they develop. In ''Mapusaurus'', the maxillary fenestrae are present in younger individuals, but gradually disappear as they mature. == Classification == [[File:Mapusaurus-skull-comparison.jpg|thumb|Comparison of two ''Mapusaurus roseae'' skulls]] [[Cladistic]] analysis carried out by Coria and Currie definitively showed that ''Mapusaurus'' is nested within the [[clade]] [[Carcharodontosauridae]]. The authors noted that the structure of the [[femur]] suggests a closer relationship with ''Giganotosaurus'' than either [[taxon]] shares with ''[[Carcharodontosaurus]]''. They created a new [[monophyletic]] taxon based on this relationship, the [[Family (biology)|subfamily]] [[Giganotosaurinae]], defined as all carcharodontosaurids closer to ''Giganotosaurus'' and ''Mapusaurus'' than to ''Carcharodontosaurus''. They tentatively included the genus ''[[Tyrannotitan]]'' in this new subfamily, pending publication of more detailed descriptions of the known specimens of that form.<ref name="coria&currie2006"/> In their 2022 description of the large carcharodontosaurine ''[[Meraxes]]'', Canale et al. recovered the following relationships for ''Mapusaurus'' and the Giganotosaurini.<ref name=Meraxes>{{Cite journal |last1=Canale |first1=Juan I. |last2=Apesteguía |first2=Sebastián |last3=Gallina |first3=Pablo A. |last4=Mitchell |first4=Jonathan |last5=Smith |first5=Nathan D. |last6=Cullen |first6=Thomas M. |last7=Shinya |first7=Akiko |last8=Haluza |first8=Alejandro |last9=Gianechini |first9=Federico A. |last10=Makovicky |first10=Peter J. |date=July 2022 |title=New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982222008600 |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=32 |issue=14 |pages=3195–3202.e5 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.057|bibcode=2022CBio...32E3195C |doi-access=free }}</ref> {{clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:80% |1={{clade |1=''[[Neovenator]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Neovenator.png|75px]]</div> |2={{clade |1=''[[Concavenator]]'' [[File:Concavenator corcovatus by Daniel Vidal 2012.png|75px]] |2=''[[Eocarcharia]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Eocarcharia, improved.png|65px]]</div> |3=''[[Lajasvenator]]'' |4=''[[Lusovenator]]'' |5={{clade |1=''[[Acrocanthosaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Acrocanthosaurus restoration.jpg|75px]]</div> |2={{clade |1=''[[Shaochilong]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Shaochilong.jpg|80px]]</div> |label2=[[Carcharodontosaurinae]] |2={{clade |1=''[[Carcharodontosaurus]]'' spp. <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Carcharodontosaurus.png|75px]]</div> |label2=[[Giganotosaurini]] |2={{clade |1=''[[Meraxes]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}} ">[[File:Meraxes gigas life restoration updated.png|75px]]</div> |2={{clade |1=''[[Tyrannotitan]]'' |2={{clade |1=''[[Giganotosaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Giganotos Db.jpg|75px]]</div> |2='''''Mapusaurus''''' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Mapusaurus Roseae restoration.png|80px]]</div> }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} In his 2024 review of theropod relationships, Cau recovered similar results, with ''[[Tyrannotitan]]'' as the [[sister taxon]] to the clade formed by ''Mapusaurus'' and ''Giganotosaurus''. His results are displayed in the [[cladogram]] below:<ref name=Cau2024>{{cite journal |last1=Cau |first1=Andrea |title=A Unified Framework for Predatory Dinosaur Macroevolution |journal=Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana |date=2024 |volume=63 |issue=1 |page=1-19 |doi=10.4435/BSPI.2024.08 |url=https://www.paleoitalia.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cau_2024_BSPI_ONLINE.pdf }}</ref>{{clade|{{clade |1=''[[Neovenator]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Neovenator.png|75px]]</div> |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Sauroniops]]'' |2=''[[Veterupristisaurus]]'' |3=''[[Lusovenator]]'' |4=''[[Eocarcharia]]'' {{small|(type skull roof)}} <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Eocarcharia, improved.png|65px]]</div> |5=''[[Concavenator]]'' [[File:Concavenator corcovatus by Daniel Vidal 2012.png|75px]] }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis]]'' {{small|(holotype maxilla)}} |2={{clade |1=''[[Acrocanthosaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Acrocanthosaurus restoration.jpg|75px]]</div> |2={{clade |1=''[[Eocarcharia]]'' {{small|(referred maxilla)}} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Meraxes]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Meraxes gigas life restoration updated.png|75px]]</div> |2=''Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis'' {{small|(referred cranial material)}} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Lajasvenator]]'' |2={{clade |1=''[[Labocania]]'' |2=''[[Shaochilong]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Shaochilong.jpg|80px]]</div> }}}}}} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''[[Carcharodontosaurus saharicus]]'' {{small|(neotype)}}<div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Carcharodontosaurus.png|75px]]</div> |2=''Carcharodontosaurus saharicus'' {{small|(described by Stromer in 1931)}} }} |2={{clade |1=''[[Tyrannotitan]]'' |2={{clade |1=''[[Mapusaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Mapusaurus Roseae restoration.png|80px]]</div> |2=''[[Giganotosaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Giganotos Db.jpg|75px]]</div> }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}|label1=[[Carcharodontosauridae]]}} == Paleoecology == [[File:Huincul Formation Dinosauria Scale.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Size comparison of several dinosaurs from the [[Huincul Formation]], ''Mapusaurus'' in red| alt=Silhouettes of dinosaurs from the Huincul Formation as size comparison]] As previously mentioned, the Huincul Formation is thought to represent an arid environment with ephemeral or seasonal streams. The age of this formation is estimated at 97 to 93.5 MYA.<ref name=FWHuincul>[http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayStrata&geological_group=Neuqu%E9n&formation=Huincul&group_formation_member=Huincul Huincul Formation] at [[Fossilworks]].org</ref> The dinosaur record is considered sparse here. ''Mapusaurus'' shared its environment with the [[sauropods]] ''[[Argentinosaurus]]'' (one of the largest sauropods, if not the largest), ''[[Choconsaurus]]'', ''[[Chucarosaurus]]'' and ''[[Cathartesaura]]''. Another carcharodontosaurid known as ''[[Meraxes]]'' was found in the same formation, but in older rocks than ''Mapusaurus'', so they likely were not coevals.<ref name="Meraxes1">{{Cite journal |last1=Canale |first1=J.I. |last2=Apesteguía |first2=S. |last3=Gallina |first3=P.A. |last4=Mitchell |first4=J. |last5=Smith |first5=N.D. |last6=Cullen |first6=T.M. |last7=Shinya |first7=A. |last8=Haluza |first8=A. |last9=Gianechini |first9=F.A. |last10=Makovicky |first10=P.J. |date=July 7, 2022 |title=New giant carnivorous dinosaur reveals convergent evolutionary trends in theropod arm reduction |journal=Current Biology |volume=32 |issue=14 |pages=3195–3202.e5 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.057 |pmid=35803271 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2022CBio...32E3195C }}</ref> The [[Abelisauridae|abelisaurid]] theropods ''[[Skorpiovenator]]'' and ''[[Ilokelesia]]'' also lived in the region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sánchez |first1=Maria Lidia |last2=Heredia |first2=Susana |last3=Calvo |first3=Jorge O. |date=2006 |title=Paleoambientes sedimentarios del Cretácico Superior de la Formación Plottier (Grupo Neuquén), Departamento Confluencia, Neuquén |trans-title=Sedimentary paleoenvironments in the Upper Cretaceous Plottier Formation (Neuquen Group), Confluencia, Neuquén |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287905148 |journal=Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=3–18 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> Fossilized pollen indicates a wide variety of plants was present in the Huincul Formation. A study of the El Zampal section of the formation found [[hornwort]]s, [[liverwort]]s, [[fern]]s, [[Selaginellales]], possible [[Noeggerathiales]], [[gymnosperm]]s (including [[gnetophyte]]s and [[conifer]]s), and [[angiosperm]]s (flowering plants), in addition to several pollen grains of unknown affinities.<ref name="Vallati2001">{{cite journal|last=Vallati|first=P.|title=Middle cretaceous microflora from the Huincul Formation ("Dinosaurian Beds") in the Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina|year=2001|journal=Palynology|volume=25|issue=1|doi=10.2113/0250179|pages=179–197|bibcode=2001Paly...25..179V |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241723727}}</ref> The Huincul Formation is among the richest Patagonian vertebrate associations, preserving fish including [[dipnoan]]s and [[gar]], [[chelid]] turtles, [[squamate]]s, [[sphenodont]]s, [[neosuchian]] [[crocodilian]]s, and a wide variety of dinosaurs.<ref name="Theropods">{{Cite journal| volume = 71| pages = 231–253| last1 = Motta| first1 = M.J.| last2 = Aranciaga Rolando| first2 = A.M.| last3 = Rozadilla| first3 = S.| last4 = Agnolín| first4 = F.E.| last5 = Chimento| first5 = N.R.| last6 = Egli| first6 = F.B.| last7 = Novas| first7 = F.E.| title = New theropod fauna from the upper cretaceous (Huincul Formation) of Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina| journal = New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin| date = 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OsJQDwAAQBAJ&q=huincul+formation+Argentinosaurus&pg=PA231}}</ref><ref name="Vertebrates">{{cite journal|last1=Motta|first1=M.J.|last2=Brissón Egli|first2=F.|last3=Aranciaga Rolando|first3=A.M.|last4=Rozadilla|first4=S.|last5=Gentil|first5=A. R.|last6=Lio|first6=G.|last7=Cerroni|first7=M.|last8=Garcia Marsà|first8=J.|last9=Agnolín|first9=F. L.|last10=D'Angelo|first10=J. S.|last11=Álvarez-Herrera|first11=G. P.|last12=Alsina|first12=C.H.|last13=Novas|first13=F.E.|title=New vertebrate remains from the Huincul Formation (Cenomanian–Turonian;Upper Cretaceous) in Río Negro, Argentina|year=2019|journal=Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina|volume=19|issue=1|pages=R26|doi=10.5710/PEAPA.15.04.2019.295|s2cid=127726069 |url=http://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/viewFile/295/355|access-date=December 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214020232/http://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/viewFile/295/355|archive-date=December 14, 2019|url-status=live|doi-access=free|hdl=11336/161858|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Vertebrates are most commonly found in the lower, and therefore older, part of the formation.<ref name="Bellardini2018">{{cite journal|last1=Bellardini|first1=F.|last2=Filippi|first2=L.S.|year=2018|title=New evidence of saurischian dinosaurs from the upper member of the Huincul Formation (Cenomanian) of Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina|journal=Reunión de Comunicaciones de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina|pages=10}}</ref> == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == {{Commons category|Mapusaurus}} {{Wikispecies|Mapusaurus}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160930130941/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0417_060417_large_dino.html Meat-Eating Dinosaur Was Bigger Than T. Rex.] National Geographic News * "[http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/faq/s-size/predator/index.html What were the longest/heaviest predatory dinosaurs?]". Mike Taylor. The Dinosaur FAQ. August 27, 2002. (Named as Unnamed Argentinian Carcharodontosaurine) * "[And the Largest Theropod is... http://dml.cmnh.org/2003Jul/msg00355.html]". The Dinosaur Mailing List Archives. Retrieved March 21, 2010 (Named as Undescribed Carcharodontosaurine) {{Theropoda|A.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q131176}} [[Category:Apex predators]] [[Category:Carcharodontosaurids]] [[Category:Cenomanian life]] [[Category:Turonian life]] [[Category:Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of South America]] [[Category:Cretaceous Argentina]] [[Category:Fossils of Argentina]] [[Category:Huincul Formation]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2006]] [[Category:Taxa named by Rodolfo Coria]] [[Category:Taxa named by Philip J. Currie]]'